Urban facilities and services are essential to human life. Access to them varies according to the geographical location of the population, whether urban, peri-urban or rural, and according to the modes of transport available. In view of the rapid development of peri-urban areas in developing countries, questions are being asked about the ability of the inhabitants of these areas to access these facilities and services. This study examines the ability of the inhabitants of Hêvié, Ouèdo and Togba, three peri-urban districts of Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin, to access commercial, educational, school and health facilities. To this end, we have adopted a GIS-based methodology. It is a combination of isochronal method and accessibility utility measurement. The isochrones were produced according to the main modes of travel recorded on the study area and over a time t ≤ 20 min divided into intervals of 05 min. Analysis of the data enabled us to understand that the main modes of travel adopted by residents are walking, motorcycle and car. Access to educational and health facilities is conditioned by the mode of travel used. Access to commercial and entertainment facilities in t ≤ 20 min is not correlated with the modes of transport used.

Our study investigates the relationship between firm profitability, board characteristics, and the quality of sustainability disclosures, while examining the moderating effects of financial leverage and external audit assurance. A key focus is the distinction between Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms. Using data from Malaysia’s top 100 publicly listed organizations from 2018 to 2020, we analyze sustainability reports based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. Unexpectedly, our results indicate a negative association between firm profitability and board characteristics, challenging traditional assumptions. We find that non-Big 4 audit firms significantly enhance sustainability disclosure quality, contradicting the widely held belief in the superiority of Big 4 firms. Our finding introduces the “Big 4 dilemma” in the Malaysian context and calls for a reassessment of audit firm selection practices. Our study offers new perspectives on the strategic role of board composition and audit firm selection in advancing sustainability disclosures, urging Malaysian organizations to evaluate audit firms on criteria beyond the global prestige of Big 4 firms to improve sustainability reporting.

This paper addresses the main logistics challenges in used car maritime traffic from Europe to West Africa. Thus, the methodology (quantitative and qualitative) analyses data from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), from 2015 to 2023 of government and port authorities to show the importance of used car market for mobility and socioeconomic activities. This is supplemented by surveys based on direct observation in the field, questionnaires and interviews involving in Europe 55 stakeholders and 127 in Africa. The results demonstrate that cars used and their parts, but not wrecks, are essential for motorization in West Africa. A pre-export process needs to be set up to ensure that exported vehicles are parked in better condition to meet the required common environmental standards for sustainable mobility.

The study examined the mediating role of supply chain security performance on the relationship between supply chain security practices and supply chain disruptions occurrences in the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Drawing on a survey of 336 manufacturing firms, dynamic capability, and contingency theories were applied using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the conceptual model. It was discovered that both direct and indirect hypotheses supported the findings of the study. The results indicate that Ghanaian manufacturing firms have made progress in implementing supply chain security measures. The findings revealed that the adoption of comprehensive supply chain security practices is positively associated with improved performance metrics, including reduced inventory losses and damages, faster order fulfillment and delivery times, lower costs related to security incidents, and enhanced brand reputation and customer trust. Policymakers can leverage these insights to develop support programs aimed at strengthening the security capabilities of manufacturing firms, ensuring they are equipped to compete effectively in both local and global markets, improving security performance, and reducing the likelihood and impact of supply chain disruptions. In the quest of bridging the gap between theory and practice, this research contributes valuable knowledge to the discourse on supply chain security in developing countries, offering a roadmap for enhancing resilience and performance in the manufacturing sector.

The use of porous media to simplify the thermohydraulic of a nuclear reactor is the topic of recent research. As a case study, the rector of 200 kW installed at Missouri University of Science and Technology is modeled in this paper. To help this objective, a fundamental CFD examination was completed to supplement the neutronics investigation on the present reactor. Characteristics of thermal energy removal from a typical research reactor are modeled by numerical thermal transport in porous media. The neutron flux is modeled by the nodal expansion method. For the thermo-hydraulic part, a three-dimensional governing equation is solved by an iterative method to find the steady-state solution of fluid flow and temperature in loss of coolant condition where the heat produced in the reactor core is removed by free convection. The profiles of heat flux for various power levels are benchmarked. Pressure, temperature, and velocity contours in the power passage were assessed at 300 kW and 500 kW power levels. To reduce the computational cost, a porous media approach for the whole geometry was utilized. The numerical results agree with the experimental results. The developed model can be used for safety and reliability analysis for various loss of coolant accidents.

Gender inequality is a structural social problem, associated with history, culture, education, religion and politics, this difficulty occurs in all social institutions due to the heterogeneity of the structure in the sexual division of labor, socioeconomic inequality, inclusion and inequity in participation in the public space between men and women. Public policies and attitudes towards gender equality in Peruvian university students were analyzed according to socio-academic variables. A descriptive-comparative study, with a quantitative approach, and not experimental cross-sectional, involved 776 university students from a public and a private university in Peru, intentionally selected. Adaptive attitudes (57.9%) were found to tend to be sexist; Likewise, in the study dimensions, the same trend was found in the sociocultural and relational levels, while in the personal dimension students develop sexist attitudes (62.4%). It is concluded, attitudes towards gender equality are sexist reproduction that is influenced by the sociocultural environment of the family, this situation occurs to a greater extent in men, while female students present attitudes of equality in greater intensity to seek equity in the distribution of roles.